Epilogue
There's a patrol heading our way.
“Sir, we have a problem,” the guard at the door stated as he stuck his head inside the crudely put-together shack. There wasn’t much inside the shack besides a cot, a crude table, two chairs, and the man sitting at the table.
The man was rather unremarkable. He was not quite six feet tall, with sandy blond hair, hazel eyes with black bags under them, and the beginnings of a scruffy beard on his cheeks and chin. He looked up and fixed the guard with a low-burning stare. “If you bring one more problem to me, I’m going to throw myself on the mercy of the Saorsa.” When the guard merely raised an eyebrow, the bandit leader sighed. “What is it, Leorcan?”
The guard eyed the bandit leader for a second, judging his mental and physical state, then whispered. “The lookouts at the top of the rim are reporting a patrol headed in our direction.”
The bandit leader blinked, shocked as he had not received any warnings from his agent in Eola. “How far away are they?” Why didn’t that idiot make a report?
“According to the lookouts, two days out.” The guard replied, handing his leader the report. “They aren’t in any rush and have passed through the villages we raided last week.”
The bandit leader brushed his hand over his chin and closed his eyes. “Bring me the soul-stone. I want to know why our agent didn’t warn us.”
Once the soul stone was in his hands, he closed his fingers around the rune-marked crystal and spoke out, not unlike he would to a friend down the street. “Yarrowsmith.” He waited for the man in question to answer, and as the seconds turned into minutes, he started getting worried. Could someone have killed Yarrowsmith?” He was just about to start telling his people to pack it up when the man on the other end answered.
“What is it, Payine?” the assassin's calm, measured voice inquired. Has something happened to your company?”
Has something happened to my company? “You could say that. A patrol from Eola is a two-day ride from the canyon rim. Why didn’t we get any warning?”
He could imagine the assassin cringing during the long pause after his question.
“I’m sorry, my friend, but we had to leave Eola quickly.” The assassin paused again, then continued. “There’s a new Reeve in town, and he raided Brigit’s building. Our new benefactor felt it was wiser to withdraw than face Nan Diathan.”
Payine rubbed the spot between his eyes as he felt the beginning of a headache. “What new benefactor? What are you talking about?”
“Brigit did it. She freed him from his bondage. Yes, yes, I’ll tell him.” Yarrowsmith replied, then answered someone else, probably someone in the room with him. “The breaker is free and has joined with the Half-Drake. He’s suggesting that you pull all of your people into one of the caves on the canyon wall.”
Caves? Why does he want us to get to the caves? “Indigo, we’ve explored those caves. We can’t hide the whole company in them.” It wasn’t that he doubted the assassin’s order. What does he know that I don’t?
The assassin paused again, this one longer, like he was having something explained to him. When he answered, he sounded relieved. “Our benefactor will have an ally open a doorway.”
What ally? What is Yarrowsmith talking about? The more Payine heard, the less he liked it, but if it saved his company, it would be worth it.
“Just get into the caves, and don’t kill the An t-Eite that open the door. He wouldn’t be pleased.”
The fallen? Payine wondered. The Shaker has fallen allies? “Understood, Yarrowsmith, and thank you.”
“It’s nothing, brother,” the assassin replied, genuine warmth in his voice. “The half-drake is having the fallen escort your company to a safe place.” There was another strange pause, as if the assassin was realizing something new. “The new boss seems to care about his followers.” There was particular emphasis on that last word. “He doesn’t act like he’d throw needless lives away.”
Thank the shaker for that. Payine praised the god he had always worshipped, not knowing that his prayers strengthened the fallen deity.
Thank you for reading “A Broken Woman’s True Desire” and “The Reeve’s Tale.”
A new story will start next week, one that introduces new characters and places for Crann na Beatha.
OOoooh so exciting! Can't wait for the next.
So that's what's been waiting outside the town's borders all this time... Balgair was very right to be concerned about the prior officials eschewing their duties just based on the implied size of this bandit crew alone. That they're apparently also backed by a shadowy cabal that includes teams of assassins goes to show he was more right than he realized.